German Clinical Trials Register

Acronym/abbreviation of the study

MiMi-Reha-Kids

URL of the study

No Entry

Brief summary in lay language

The study accompanies the development and implementation of a multimodal information campaign to improve the use of medical rehabilitation for children and young people from migrant backgrounds and clarifies whether the use of rehabilitation by this group can be successively increased in the two model regions of Berlin and Hamburg during the project period. The multimodal information campaign will be carried out by the Ethno-Medizinische Zentrum e. V. Hannover. In the model regions, a multimodal information campaign will be developed within the first year and carried out from the first quarter of 2020 to the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. The information campaign includes a guide to child and young people rehabilitation, the training of mediators, information events for families from migrant backgrounds, supplementary counselling hours on the application process and intercultural training for specialists. Annually, all families whose children and adolescents participated in a rehabilitation programme in the previous year and live in the model regions of Berlin and Hamburg are interviewed by postal questionnaires. In this survey, the proportion of children and adolescents with a migration background and the health-related quality of life of the children and adolescents are assessed. The survey of children and young people is supplemented by a parent questionnaire.

Brief summary in scientific language

In addition to paediatric care and acute medical treatment in hospitals, medical rehabilitation is a central component of medical care for young people in Germany. The most common indications for medical rehabilitation for children and young people include psychological disorders, bronchial asthma, overweight, skin and subcutaneous diseases, and deformities of the spine and back. Children and young people from migration backgrounds are clearly underrepresented in rehabilitation for children and young people. According to the latest Microzensus survey, 19.3 million people from migrant backgrounds live in Germany. This corresponds to 23.6% of the total population. The proportion of people from migrant backgrounds is significantly higher in the younger age groups: 37.5% (4.2 million) are under 15 years. The proportion of children and young people from migration backgrounds in medical rehabilitation is significantly lower from an expert's point of view. However, since the migration status in medical rehabilitation is not regularly recorded according to the definition of the Federal Statistical Office, there is no precise estimate to date of the actual proportion of children and young people from migration backgrounds utilisation of rehabilitation services. The prevalence of chronic disorders with need for rehabilitation (e.g. mental illness and overweight) is significantly higher among children and adolescents with a migrant background than among children and adolescents without a migrant background. Children and adolescents with a bilateral migration background are more likely to have psychological difficulties (21.3%) than children and adolescents with no or a unilateral migration background (13.5%). Children and adolescents with a migrant background are also more likely to be overweight. In the 7- to 10 years aged children, 10% of girls and 11.4% of boys with a migrant background are obese; in the group of girls without a migrant background, the proportion of overweight children is only 4.8% and among boys 6.1%. The lower rehabilitation utilisation of children and adolescents with a migrant background is therefore unlikely due to a lower need for medical rehabilitation. It can be assumed that the use of these services is more difficult because of various personal and system-related barriers. Our trend study examines whether a multimodal information campaign can increase the use of medical rehabilitation by children and adolescents with a migration background.